Introduction

Beneath a crimson sun lie wastelands of majestic desolation and cities of cruel splendor, where sandal clad heroes battle ancient sorcery and terrible monsters. This is Athas, the world of the DARK SUN campaign setting, a dying planet of savagery and desolation. Life hangs by a thread in this barren land, it is unforgiving to the weak, and now it is up to you to write your own story in blood and glory.

8. Familiar races and classes aren't what you expect

Typical fantasy stereotypes don't apply to Athasian heroes. In many fantasy settings, elves are wise, benevolent forest-dwellers who guard their homelands from intrusions of evil. On Athas, elves are nomadic herders, raiders, peddlers, and thieves. Halflings aren't amiable river-folk; they're xenophobic headhunters and cannibals who hunt and kill trespassers in their mountain forests. New races thrive here: the monstrous half-giant, the insectoid thri-kreen, the half-breed mul. There are no paladins, bards serve as assassins, and the mental force of psions can be found even amongst the lowliest beggar and slave.

Dwarf Names

Names are granted by the clan leader, the uhrnius, after completing one's first focus. Dwarves do not have a surname and like many on Athas prefer just one name, using a town (Drog of Kled) if distinction is needed.

Male Names: Baranus, Biirgaz, Bontar, Brul, Caelum, Caro, Daled, Drog, Fyra, Ghedran, Gralth, Gram, Jurgan, Lyanius, Murd, Nati, Portek, Rkard, Sa’ram, Sult, Veso.

Female Names: Ardin, Erda, Ghava, Greshin, Gudak, Lazra, N’kadir, Palashi, Vashara.

Dwarf traits

Dwarves are nonmagical by nature and abhor arcane casters. They cannot take an arcane casting class. Their priests lean towards steady earth and avoid chaotic air, and they take to psionics with a vengeance. Dwarves leave villages at times to further a focus and to search for ancient dwarven ruins. They are highly prized as mercenaries because once contracted, their loyalty will never change.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and you choose to increase your Strength or Wisdom by 1.

Age. Dwarves mature around age 35 and live up to 250 years, though the dangers of Athas often claim them well before this time.

Alignment. Dwarves tend lawful and good to neutral. Their devotion to an established hierarchy in villages means they tend to follow rules even to the point of ridicule.

Size. A typical dwarf stands about 4 ½ to 5 feet tall and weighs 200 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet. You are not slowed by wearing heavy armor.

Darkvision. Despite living aboveground, your heritage allows you to see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if in bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Dwarven Focus. When making an ability check or saving throw directly related to your Focus, you are considered proficient.

Dwarven Resilience. You have Advantage on poison saves and resistance to poison damage.

Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with the artisan's tool of your choice: smith's tools, brewer's supplies, or mason's tools.

Dwarven Toughness. Your hit point maximum increases by 1 and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.

Languages. You can speak Common and Dwarvish. With DM permission, your character might be able to read Dwarvish with an appropriate background. Dwarves keep a long and proud oral history, and they have an old written language mostly used for writing history that they will never share to outsiders. Their native language is deep and throaty, full of guttural sounds and harsh exclamations that cause most non-dwarves to get raw throats if spoken for long.

Elf Names

Naming of young runners is a sacred responsibility, given after the first interesting thing the child does while learning to run. With the right name, an elf child can grow to greatness, but the wrong name may cause one to vanish in the wastes. A child’s name can be changed because of an extraordinary deed performed during the rite of passage. Elves take the surname of their tribe.

Male Names: Botuu (Water Runner), Coraanu (First Elf, the Warrior Thief), Dukkoti (Wind Fighter), Haaku (Two Daggers), Lobuu (First Runner), Mutami (Laughs at Sun), Nuuko (Sky Hunter), Traako (Metal Stealer).

Female Names: Alaa (Bird Chaser), Ekee (Wild Dancer), Guuta (Singing Sword), Hukaa (Fire Leaper), Ittee (Dancing Bow), Nuuta (Quiet Hunter), Utaa (Laughing Moon)

Tribe (Clan) Names: Clearwater Tribe (Fireshaper, Graffyon, Graystar, Lightning, Onyx, Sandrunner, Seafoam, Silverleaf, Songweaver, Steeljaw, Wavedivers, Windriders clans); Night Runner Tribe (Dark Moons, Full Moons, Half Moons, Lone Moons, New Moons, Quarter Moons clans); Shadow Tribe; Silt Stalker Tribe (Fire Bow, Fire Dagger, Fire Sword clans); Silver Hand Tribe; Sky Singer Tribe (Dawnchaser, Dayjumper, Twilightcatcher clans); Swiftwing Tribe; Water Hunter Tribe (Raindancer, Poolrunner, Lakesinger clans); Wind Dancer Tribe (Airhunter, Breezechaser clans)

Elf traits

Elves tend to any profession and trade that let's them act freely. This makes them poor students of the rigorous study of psionics, and rarely does anything but Air draw them to clerical study.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and you choose to increase your Intelligence or Charisma by 1.

Age. Elves reach physical maturity at the same rate as humans but must pass the tribe’s rites of initiation before being recognized as adults, typically around 20. Elves can live to 140 years.

Alignment. Elves tend chaotic because of their love of freedom, variety and self-expression. They tend neutrality, though they tend good (self-sacrifice) when the tribe is concerned. Although they will steal everything in sight, they are not murderous and avoid unnecessary violence.

Size. A typical elf stands about 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 feet tall and around 175 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Burst of Speed. Your heritage allows you to move in sprints. When you move on your turn in combat, you can double your speed until the end of the turn. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns.

Elven Resilience. You are conditioned to the extreme weather of the wastelands and have advantage on all saves against extreme heat and cold.

Mask of the Wild. You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by terrain, weather, or other natural phenomena.

Elf Run. You add your Constitution score to the number of miles you can travel in a day. You have advantage on forced march saves.

Languages. You can speak Common and Elvish. Each tribe has a distinct dialect. The language is filled with short, clipped words, run with a rapid staccato pace difficult for others to pick up. They disdain the slow, tedious languages of others but condescend to learn Common. Elves that learn other tongues hide it to gain advantage.

Roleplaying a Half-elf

You don’t consider yourself a separate race. You pride yourself on your self-reliance and refuse patronizing offers to help you. You'll do fine on your own, thank you very much. Take any chance to show humans you're just as talented as them or elves you're just as clever. If others view your attempts as irrational, well, they get to be wrapped in the blankets of racial acceptance. You're left out in the cold. Praise should be viewed with suspicion because no one hands that out without an angle in mind. Other half-elves don't interest you by default. Just because they have the same ears doesn't mean you suddenly have anything in common. In an adventuring group, you don't need charity and don't need someone else to cook your food or take your watch.
This does not mean you'll never form a lasting friendship. But it's hard to get over a lifetime of being on the outside and being constantly reminded of that. This is why you feel affinity with the beast. They're simple. They don't judge, and they don't act with malice.

HALF-GIANT

“Mind of a child, strength of three grown men. I’ve seen a half-giant tear the walls out of a building because he wanted a better look at the tattoos on a mul inside.” – Daro, human trader

Legend holds in ages past a sorcerer king or queen used wizardry to beget a union of giant and human to make a race of powerful slaves. Whatever the truth, the half-giant race has thrived, able to reproduce with one another, and are sought out as gladiators, soldiers, guards and mercenaries across the tablelands.

Because of their artificial origins, there is no half-giant culture, tradition, or homeland. They readily imitate customs and cultures of those they admire or associate with. They are very imitative, eager to fit into a world that is not built for their size. One observing a dwarf quarry might watch for a time then try his hand at it, moving on if he does not excel at it. Many find they excel at breaking bones and imitate those who are also skilled at this practice.

Big and strong

Half-giants are enormous individuals, generally 10 to 12 feet high and weighing in upwards of 1600 pounds. Though they have human features, these tend to be exaggerated in some ways. Skin tones range from light brown to deep tan, like sand. They vary in hair color and tend to wear whatever hair style or fashion they currently are emulating. Absent that, their giant heritage makes for thick hair amenable to braids. There is no economy for half-giant stature, so their clothing would likely consist of several human-sized articles of clothing stitched together. A tavern would charge extra for filling enough plates for a half-giant sized appetite, and any armor would have to be specially crafted. Most nobles, templars, and merchant houses feel the investment is worth the return when they have 1500 pounds of enforcement at their command.

Impressionable

The most powerful warriors on Athas, half‐giants seem content to dwell in humanity’s shadow and drift towards charismatic leaders of all races. For example, if a half-giant village is near elven raiders, they are likely to emulate the guerilla tactics of the elves. However, this innate need to fit in is more than a whim. It is inherent to the half-giant's creation. A half-giant farmer's village might be raided, and he may soon adopt the morals of the invaders because they seem to know what they're doing, and the half-giant finds he's pretty good at smashing heads too.

Alignment on a Whim

One axis of your alignment will be fixed and the other subject to change, even daily, based on influential events or persons around you that you find a reason to emulate or admire. You will try out their morals or philosophies and perhaps stick with it for a time if you're good at it. This does not mean half-giants are unreliable - the influence must be strong for them to change, and they have a core philosophy that is fairly unchanging. A half-giant soldier might see a dwarven cleric of the sun and be impressed by her unflappable devotions. He may try shaving himself and praying to the sun until he finds he cannot stare at the sun without hurting his eyes and cannot make fire appear.

This can make role-playing a half-giant a challenge.

Half-giant Names

Slaves are given human names while free half-giants will take names based off the adopted culture. See other races for name suggestions.

Half-giant traits

Half-giants inherit a solid balance of their bestial and human parents.

Ability Score Increase. You have 4 points to split between your Strength and Constitution scores. Your Strength score may reach a maximum of 22 instead of 20. Your Intelligence and Wisdom scores are decreased by 2 each.

Age. Half-giants mature around 24 years of age and can live up to 220 years.

Alignment. Your alignment may fluctuate as described in Alignment on a Whim. You begin with one fixed alignment axis (good-neutral-evil or lawful-neutral-chaotic) that will never change. The other axis may change depending on who you are emulating. Subject to DM approval, when imitating a charismatic leader, select an appropriate Ideal or Flaw and replace your current one. If the new Ideal is tied to a non-fixed axis of your alignment, change that aspect of your alignment.

Size. A typical half-giant stands 10 to 12 feet tall and weighs 1,600 pounds. You occupy a 10-foot by 10-foot space and have a 5 foot reach. Your size is Large.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Giant Body. You cannot wear ordinary gear sized for smaller creatures such as boots, gloves, and backpacks. All clothing, armor, meals, and lodging cost double for you.

Large Hands. You may wield versatile and two-handed melee weapons with one hand.

Colossal Endurance. Your immense body mass allows you to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to reduce that damage by your Constitution score. After using this trait, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Giant’s Toughness. Your hit point maximum increases by 2 and it increases by 2 every time you gain a level.

Languages. You can speak Common. Your voice is always low, making it difficult for most to hear and understand more than a rumble.

Halfling traits

Halfling traits reflect their savage nature.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score by 1.

Age. Halflings reach adulthood at the same rate as humans and live to be about 120 years old.

Alignment. Halflings tend towards law and evil. Uncomfortable with change, halflings tend to rely on intangible constants, such as racial identity, family, clan ties and personal honor. Halflings generally have little respect for the laws of the big people.

Size. Halflings average around 3 ½ feet tall and 50 to 60 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Halfling Nimbleness. You can move through the space of any creature that is of larger size than yours.

Savage Attacks. When you score a critical hit with a melee attack, you can roll one of the weapon's damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

Fury of the Small. When you damage a creature at least one size larger than you with an attack or spell, you can cause the attack to add extra damage equal to your level. Once you use this trait, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Languages. You can speak Halfling and Common. Your culture uses drawings and tales rather than a written language. Halflings rarely teach others their language, but some individuals of the Tablelands have learned the wild speech. Halflings found in the Tablelands learn Common to survive, but it is generally unknown past the Ringing Mountains.

Mul names

Muls are given names, and for gladiators, Draji names with harsh tones are favored to strike fear. Lacking families, a mul might use a place for a surname, such as “Mersten of Nibenay.”

Male Names: Aram, Athalak, Borthomar, Bost, Darok, Darus, Durn, Eben, Erekard, Gard, Harask, Marok, Morg, Rikard, Sanozar, Tomak, Uskan, Zedath, Zorus.

Female Names: Aisa, Aivel, Brithis, Callia, Demosis, Elina, Faivel, Himithis, Laivi, Mersten, Narisel, Raina, Reshel, Saditha, Tirshel, Uisel, Zerima.

Mul traits

The mul is bred for physical attributes but can inherit a parent's quick mind. A mul cannot be an arcane caster, having inherited their dwarven heritage.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2 and your Constitution and Wisdom by 1.

Age. A mul ages like humans, tending to reach adulthood a year or two year earlier and given their lot in life rarely reach the age of 85.

Alignment. Muls tend towards neutrality with respect to good and evil, but run the gamut with respect to law or chaos. Many lawful muls adapt well to the indignities of slavery, playing the game for the comforts that they can win as valued slaves. A few ambitious lawful muls use the respect won from their fellow slaves to organize rebellions and strike out for freedom. Chaotic muls, on the other hand, push their luck and their value as slaves to the breaking point, defying authority, holding little fear for the lash.

Size. A typical mul is 7 feet tall and weighs over 250 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. Once you use that trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Inexhaustible. You have advantage on Forced March saves and all saves to resist non-magical exhaustion. If you spend 1 minute focusing yourself, you can remove one level of non-magical exhaustion. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Languages. You can speak Common plus a language of your choice.

Thri-kreen names

The Kreen language is very different from those of the other intelligent races. They have no lips or tongues, and so cannot make the same sounds humanoids make. Kreen language is made up of clicks, pops, or grinding noises. They do not distinguish male and female names.

Names: Cha'ka, Chuka-tet, Drasna, Drik-chkit, Hakka, Ka'cha, Ka'tho, Klik-chaka'da, Lakta-cho, Qhak'cha, Qhik-ik-cha, Sa'Relka, T'Chai, Tak-tha.

Thri-kreen traits

Kreen physiology gives it several natural advantages that compensate for not being able to utilize items commonly worn by other races.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age. A thri-kreen is born from an egg and becomes fully mature at 6 years. They demonstrate no effect of aging until they reach the end of their life cycle around 30 years. Sensing their death, such thri-kreen go on a final hunt.

Alignment. Most Thri‐kreen are chaotic, acting in whatever fashion benefits the pack mentality, and this rarely leads them to philosophies of good and evil.

Size. A typical thri-kreen is 7 feet tall, 11 feet long, and weighs 450 pounds. Unlike other races, variation in height and weight is nominal and a few inches or pounds at most. You occupy a 10 foot by 10 foot space and have 5 foot reach. Your size is Large.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Carapace. Your chitinous plates provide a natural armor class of 13 + Dexterity modifier. You cannot wear armor but you may carry a shield.

Thri-kreen Physiology. You only require 1 gallon of water per week. You cannot swim. You cannot wear items fitted for humanoids, including but not limited to armor, bracers, cloaks, and rings.

Sleepless. You require no sleep and are immune to sleep effects. You need only 4 hours of light activity to gain the benefits of a long rest. You are not required to make saves for a Forced March.

Thri-kreen Weapon Training. You are proficient with the gythka, chatkcha, and your claws and bite.

Claws. Your claws can be used to make a single natural attack for 1d4 + Strength modifier slashing damage. At 5th level, this increases to 2d4.

Bite. Your bite can be used to make a natural attack for 1d4 + Strength modifier piercing damage. At 5th level, you add thri-kreen venom to your bite. A target must make a Constitution save or be poisoned for 1 minute; if failed by 5 or more, the target is paralyzed for the duration. The target repeats the save at the beginning of its turn to end the effect. The DC is 8 + proficiency bonus + Constitution modifier.

Additional Arms. You have two ancillary arms below your main ones. Each of these weaker arms can hold items but not effectively wield weapons or shields. You may use your extra arms to stow or retrieve one item each turn without using an action and may freely swap items between your arms without using an action.

Leap. At 3rd level, your legs have grown powerful enough to jump 50 feet forward or 20 straight up, without a running start. You cannot jump backwards.

Naturally Psionic. Your Psi Point maximum increases by 2 and by another 2 at 5th level.

Languages. You can speak Thri-Kreen and Common. Thri-Kreen is a language composed of clicks and whirring, antennae movements, and pheromone emissions that non-kreen find too difficult to interpret and impossible to duplicate. When you speak other languages, you use a high-pitched voice.

Barbarian

The main sources of barbarians are slave tribes and hunter-gatherer cultures from beyond the Tablelands. Life among slave tribes is often brutal and short. A barbarian might be a sole survivor of a raid or monster attack. She might be an exile or returned to her tribe to find it gone. Barbarian halfling tribes that draw power from the spirits can be found in the forest ridge, and no matter their location, all share a common manifestation of fury. For some, it comes from within, amplified by horrific life events, and for others, it may come from unity with ancient spirits, contacted through rituals whose ways are documented only in oral tradition, to be lost if the tribe is ever lost.

Use the default rules for barbarians unless a change is indicated below.

Bard

The minstrels of Athas are entertainers to the wealthy and powerful elite of the city-states. Singers, acrobats, poets, dancers, and storytellers, minstrels tour the cities of Athas in troupes or individually, making a living with their wits and talents. Among them, hiding in plain sight, are an offshoot mutation of wizards who have, over time, come to utilize magic without spellbooks, augmented by music. To survive and avoid the fate of most wizards, they take their natural affinity to music and have mixed with the minstrel culture.

By tradition all but the poorest or most suspicious of hosts are proud to open their doors to traveling performers. Hosting a minstrel or sponsoring a troupe’s performance reflects well on the host, and most Athasians are eager to forget their troubles with a few hours of song and dance. Nobles often send troupes of minstrels to one another as gifts; it is seen as a great insult to refuse such a gift, even when all involved know that minstrels are often spies or assassins.

Fortunate minstrels are highly paid companions to nobility, trusted advisors or agents who enjoy the most intimate confidences of their patrons. Minstrels are often retained by noble houses to tutor young nobles or teach them about the world. They might serve as bodyguards and fighting instructors at the same time. Minstrels who belong to a troupe lack the comfort and trust bestowed on a kept minstrel, but they enjoy the freedom to travel and the aid of a network of informants and allies. The poorest and most humble minstrels are simple wandering storytellers or jugglers who perform for their supper from night to night.

Many minstrels have a dark side they conceal beneath their charm and talent. Those with ambition and ruthlessness find opportunities in the employ of the elite classes. Minstrels often lead double lives as blackmailers, thieves, spies, or assassins; a minstrel’s visit or a troupe’s performance might conceal a mission of espionage or murder. They are renowned as masters of poison, concealed weapons, and subtle trickery. Even the humblest wandering minstrel with threadbare cloak and battered lyre might be more than he or she seems there’s no better spy than someone who seems harmless and is welcome wherever he or she goes.

The most dangerous of these - spellcasting bards - are employed in stables by sorcerer kings and employed ruthlessly against their most dangerous and well-protected foes.

Use the default rules for bards unless a change is indicated below.

Cleric

The clerics who inhabit the wastes of Athas are very different from those of a standard D&D campaign. They do not pray to patron deities, for they have no deities. Clerics beneath the dark sun pledge themselves to the very powers that dwell on the elemental planes. Like the Athasian deserts, the elemental powers are neither benevolent nor malevolent, caring only that their natural forms are preserved in the material world. To preserve what they can in a dying world, the elements forge pacts with a select few beings and through them hope to replenish a decaying planet to the ancient, carefree days of power.

The clerics who do the elementals' bidding are a strange and varied lot. Some teach crop rotation in order to protect and restore the earth of the harsh planet. Others command the power of flame for little more than vengeance’s sake. Whatever their motivations, each cleric is bound and sworn to preserve her patron element in the physical world. Few ever renounce the solemn agreement: to forsake the Pact is to incur the wrath of beings who possess the raw power of the elements.

Use the default rules for clerics unless a change is indicated below.

Trickster (the elusive wind) Domain Spells

Trickster Divine Strike: replace poison damage with lightning damage.

Light (the searing force) Domain Spells

Bonus Cantrip. Replace light with produce flame.

Druid

Unlike Athasian clerics, druids are solitary creatures. They live off the land, within the land, and they have sacrificed their entire lives for the land. But, unlike clerics, druids concentrate their considerable abilities in a single area: their guarded lands. A barren stretch of desert, a sparse section of scrub land, or perhaps a sparkling oasis, that is the home of the druid, and his source of power. One small preserve, protected from the dark magic of the defilers.

They are the bane of sorcerer kings, eternally at war with them, but hunted to small enough numbers to no longer be considered a viable threat. The few druids bide their time, training and rebuilding their ranks. It is said one day the druids will rise from the earth with their fallen brothers and erase the sorcerer kings from Athas.

Use the default rules for druids unless a change is indicated below.

Beast Shapes, continued

Fighter

The fighter is universal no matter what world she may be found. Most serve as gladiators, soldiers, merchant guards, or mercenaries. Most gladiators are slaves, but some can make a lucrative living as freemen, training a stable or earning prizes. The city-states rely on slave conscripts for the bulk of their forces, but all maintain a core of elite, trained soldiers such as the all-female Shadow Consorts of Nibenay or Urik’s Obsidian Guard. The merchant houses employ their own armies to protect trade, including well-trained cavalry and foot soldiers. Nobles keep their own bodyguards and small forces, considered a fairly easy job since most nobles are content to avoid conflict. Soldiers of fortune can be found in all settings, and a few have united to form small units operating from fortified bases, such as the Black Reavers outside of Urik.

Psion & Empath

Psionics are a daily part of life in Athas and all living creatures will have exposure to it. It is not unexpected that the local smith might have some latent talent to bend leather in a particular way that improves the product. Even the beasts of the desert likely have some ability that improves their survivability. Every sorcerer king and most merchant houses keep a stable of powerful psionic users on staff, and in cities those who display a greater degree of power are carefully watched for signs of disloyalty.

Every city has psionic trainers and schools of study, and it is said there is an Order of mindbenders powerful enough to challenge a sorcerer-king, though if such an Order exists, its agenda has yet to be known. All races accept and have affinity for psionics. Even so, laws of the cities take into account psionic powers. Crimes committed by a compelled person are punished as if the psionic user committed them, and mind-reading against non-slaves is forbidden.

The Empath follows a philosophy of study that belief equals reality. They have learned to translate their emotions into raw power, affecting the emotions of others and eventually bending reality.

Psions are scholars of the mind, controlling the physical world around them through intense study of particular disciplines.

The Rules for both classes, as well as 3 subtypes, are contained in the DMs Guild product "Psion's Primer," found at:

Ranger

The wilds of Athas are a treacherous place, and the skills of a ranger are most often learned as a guide, hunter, or scout for a military operation. Rangers are found in every race, most prominently among halflings. To the ranger, the seared lands are not an enemy but a well respected adversary. Rangers generally are on good terms with druids, and it is from a druid mentor that a ranger likely has experienced contact with a Spirit of the Land that can bestow upon her certain powers.

Rangers function as in the PHB with changes as below:

Wizard

Arcane magic is outlawed in every city-state. In secret, wizards still study the arcane arts, drawn to it even at the risk of their lives, from small cabals to isolated ancient text study. Wizards are universally distrusted, for while one may profess to not defile, the temptation will always be there, to gain greater power "just this once" and "for the greater good." To the druid or elemental cleric, there is no greater affront than seeing the precious life of Athas turn to ash, justified for a brief need.

PC wizards are likely revolutionaries, naturally in opposition to sorcerer kings. They must take extreme steps to hide their nature, including from their own companions. If you play a wizard, think about a "cover story." Many wizards pretend to be mindbenders or clerics.

Wizards function as in the PHB with changes as below:

• Add Sleight of Hand to list of skills from which to choose.

The find familiar spell summons creatures native to Dark Sun but only with the fiendish type. All creatures have AC12, 4 hit points, and 20' movement. The list can include but is not limited to:

• Critic lizard (a tiny, colorful reptile that senses danger, expects food after fights, is jumpy and paranoid)
• Hurrum (flightless beetle that constantly produces a pleasing humming noise while cooling itself, dies in direct sunlight and likes to hum songs you are thinking about)
• Jank (gold furred ferret-like mammal with poisonous spurs, likes to stuff its mouth pouches and play with objects in your packs)
• Kivit (gray-furred feline that secretes venomous musk to ward off predators, hates being inside and musk spell intensifies when upset)
• Wrab (black-scaled winged serpent that senses emotional states, often trained for diplomatic encounters, likes to lick blood from your wounds and wrap around your arm when you attempt to persuade others, fly)
• Z'tal (chirping feathered lizard often used as food, gets alarmed when party members stray and often bumps into your leg)

Defilers of Athas

When an arcane caster invokes a spell, she draws upon the life energy of Athas. Most casters are trained to take only what is needed because any more kills plant life and renders the area barren for centuries. Every spellcaster is aware she is limiting herself by voluntarily limiting her casting in this way. With any spell, she can cost off her self-imposed restrictions in exchange for a rush of power. In doing so, she marks herself as a defiler - an enemy of the land. Doing so is an evil act, but many a good-hearted caster has found herself facing impending doom and reconsidered this stance.

Purging Defiler Points

A defiler has two options to purge points and remove the negative effects of defiling. In most preserver circles, it is considered better to die than defile, and even if one can remove the taint of defiling, that person will be seen as a defiler ("once a defiler always a defiler.")

Combating Defilers: New Druid spells

Weapons and Armor

New Weapon Description

Alhulak. A blunt grappling hook attached to 5-7 feet of rope with a 2 foot-long handle. The bladed head is commonly carved from mekillot bone while the handle is wood or bone.

Cahulak. A pair of alhulak heads tied to either end of a 10-12-foot rope. As a melee weapon, the wielder holds one blade cluster in each hand and swings them in unison or succession at the foe. Used this way, the wielder can strike with the off-hand as a bonus action and the weapon has reach. As a thrown weapon, it tangles around the target like a Net (no effect on Huge or larger, DC10 Strength check to free self or another) and causes 1d6 damage when the blades strike.

Carrikal. The sharpened jawbone of a large creature lashed to a haft, forming a sharp club with two forward facing heads.

Chatkcha. This small 3-bladed crystalline throwing wedge is made exclusively by thri-kreen in a secret process carefully guarded by them. In their language, it means “rememberer-who-ends-knowledge,” reflecting it ends awareness by killing and remembers to return to its thrower. Due to its spin it will return to a proficient thrower if it misses.

Datchi club. A 4-foot-long head made of dried insect hide or roots is attached to a 3-foot-long handle, with teeth or claws embedded in the head, enabling it to create horrible wounds. It is a crude, common weapon used in the arena.

Dejada. A long, scooped basket is worn on the arm and used to propel 2-inch ceramic or stone projectiles called “pelota” at high rates of speed.

Dragon Paw. Popular in arenas, this is a 6-foot-long pole with a blade on either end. Proficiency allows the wielder to strike with the off-hand as a bonus action.

Gouge. Worn in an over-the-shoulder harness, this is commonly found in the Nibenese infantry. A wide blade is mounted to a 3-foot-long wooden shaft that requires two hands to wield. One hand goes on a small bar and another on a grip at the rear of the shaft to increase thrust. The weapon is wielded much like a shovel.

Gythka. A thri-kreen polearm with wicked crystalline blades at each end, wielded like a quarterstaff with the ability to strike with the off-hand as a bonus action. Like the chatkcha, its manufacture is a closely guarded racial secret.

Impaler. Developed for the arenas, this is a T-shaped weapon with two blades mounted parallel atop the end of a 4-foot shaft. It is swung like a pick.

Lotulis. Crescent blades with barbed spikes near the points and mounted at either end of a long shaft make this a nasty melee weapon.

Quabone. Common arena weapon made from 4 identical shanks lashed together to form a symmetrical, sword-length rod.

Singing Sticks. A carefully crafted and polished thin club, often used in pairs, drawing their name from characteristic whistling noises when used.

Talid. Also known as the “gladiator’s gauntlet,” this is made of stiff leather with metal, chitin, or bone plating on the hand cover and along the forearm. Spikes protrude from the knuckles and along the back of the hand. A sharp blade runs along the thumb and there is a 6 inch spike on the elbow.

Medium Armor

More protection with less flexibility, more often used in cities than in the direct sun but also built with ventilation in mind allowing some to avoid overheating during exertion.

Hide. Crude but flexible enough for use in the sun, favored by many warriors. Types: tembo, kank, kirre, mekillot.

Bonemail. Stiff leather jackets adorned with small disks or squares of horn, bone, or wood. The kank and the cilops have hard body parts ideal for such coats.

Scale. A heavy coat with carru leather leggings and overlapping scales of a beast. Types: Scorpion, mekillot.

Shell. Fitted inix or mekillot shell pieces worn over supple leather. Legs and arms are left vulnerable but the vital organs are protected and movement unhampered.

Chitin. Shaped chitin plates covering most of the body except the leg, which is protected by simple graves held by leather straps.

Heavy Armor

Years of experimentation and clever crafting methods have led armorers to develop ingenious air ventilation and circulation methods allowing alternative armors to be worn in the heat of Athas, albeit with some drawback.

Baazrag Bone. Hardened leather with thick baazrag bones, the few bones aside from drakes that can withstand the process, sewn in it. While appearing massive and imposing, it is the least practical of the heavy armors.

So-ut mail. The scales of a so-ut are attached to a layer of quilted fabric worn underneath to prevent chafing and cushion blows. The hard scales provide superior protection to traditional scale armor.

Mastyrial. The chitinous shell of the mastyrial is valued for its protective qualities. When supplemented with a backing of leather over cloth padding, it serves as a superior armor.

Braxat plate. Braxat shell makes excellent armor plates that can be shaped to fit the body and interlocked. Thick padding underneath cushions attacks, and buckles and straps evenly distribute the weight.

Shields

Shields are made from a variety of materials, ranging from thick beetle shells to mekillot plates to reinforced bark.

Buckler. Small shield strapped to forearm. As an action or bonus action, you can don or doff the buckler by flipping it around, allowing you to quickly switch between fighting styles or to free up a hand for casting. A shield normally takes 1 action to doff or don.

Shield. Standard one-handed device varying in material and shape.

Pavise. This convex shield is designed to stand alone on the ground. It takes an action to place or pick up a pavise. When placed, you lose the AC bonus but gain 1/2 cover if standing or 3/4 cover if prone behind it. A placed pavise provides no protection against melee attacks.

Tower shield. Standing nearly as tall as a person, this shield grants the wielder a +2 bonus to Dexterity saves that does not stack with cover. You can also use this shield in conjunction with the Dodge action to keep your dodge benefits even if stunned or movement is reduced to 0.

Adventuring Gear

Adventuring gear is presumed to be made of non-metal components unless impossible (e.g. a lock), in which case the item costs the listed full listed GP price as normal.

Other

Giant Hair Rope. Made from the near-unbreakable hair of giants, this rope has Hardness 5 and 2 damage to cut.

Tack, Harness, and Vehicles

Description

Barding. A mount's defense can be reinforced by covering it with barding. Made of leather pads with bone, chitin, or wood plates, barding increases a mount's Armor Class by 2.

Chariot. A chariot is a lightly armored vehicle constructed of wood, chitin and hardened leather, designed for riding and combat. Two people can ride a chariot. A creature riding a chariot has half cover against attacks from the front or the sides. Crodlu and kanks can be used to pull a chariot.

Howdah. A howdah is a frame with seats designed to be mounted on the back of an inix or mekillot. A normal howdah is made of a light wooden frame while a war howdah is constructed of much sturdier materials and offering half cover against any attacks from outside. An inix howdah can hold up to four people. A mekillot howdah can be constructed in a more elaborate affair; it often contains two levels and can accommodate up to sixteen people. Anyone riding in a howdah is considered to be at rest and shaded.

Wagon. A wagon is the simplest form of transportation. Crodlus or kanks can be used as beasts of burden for the normal versions. An open wagon is a little more than a wooden box on four wooden wheels while an enclosed ensures its riders are unaffected by weather. An armored caravan wagon requires two mekillots to pull, has multiple rooms on multiple levels, and can carry a cargo of 15,000 pounds of goods, up to 50 fully armed warriors, 25 slaves in transit, and a handful of merchants, nobles, or other travelers. The defense balconies in an armored caravan wagon provide half cover against any attacks from outside. Anyone riding an enclosed or armored caravan wagon is considered to be at rest and shaded.

Poisons of Athas

Poison Description

These are commonly encountered market poisons and are not considered a full list of all available poisons in Athas. Those with skill in gathering components may harvest and develop less-commonly seen poisons.

Assassin bug (injury). The poison of the male assassin bug causes a flesh-numbing sensation that ends with a stiffness of the victim's limbs. The target must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or have disadvantage to all Dexterity-based saving throws and checks for 1 minute.

Bleached inix slumber (ingested). Made from mixing sun bleached inix bone and epserweed sap, this poison is typically mixed with spiced wine. This poison is typically used by bards and templars as a preliminary attack before ambushing rival noble houses, templar officials, or Veiled Alliance cells. The target must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned and unable to use psionics or cast arcane spells for 1 minute. Those who fail the saving throw by 5 or more are also unconscious and may be awakened by taking damage or if another creature uses an action to shake them awake. At the end of each of its turns, the target repeats the saving throw to be able to use psionics and cast arcane spells again.

Blight (injury). This poison made from undead extract disrupts the central nervous system's ability to communicate between the brain and the muscles, thereby causing paralysis. A target must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or become paralyzed for 1 minute. The poisoned creature can attempt a saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end the effect.

Cactus venom (injury). When correctly harvested and refined, the venom contained in the tiny sac at the base of a hunting cactus' spine can be made into a fast-acting paralytic agent, distrupting the victim's central nervous system. The target must make a DC 14 Constitution save or be poisoned for 1 minute. The poisoned creature is also paralyzed. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end the effect.

Gaj poison gas (inhaled). This noxious gas clogs the victims breathing conduits, making it difficult to breathe as well as causing nausea and blurred vision. Additionally, a painful tingling of the skin occurs where the gas touches exposed flesh. A creature must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take 14 (4d6) poison damage and have disadvantage on all attacks, saving throws, and abilty checks for 1 minute on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Gold scorpion (injury). The poison of the gold scorpion is extremely potent for its tiny size, causing muscle spasms and loss of strength more commonly associated with much larger poisonous creatures. The target must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or take 13 (2d12) poison damage, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Hypnotic brew (inhaled). This is a tasteless, odorless mixture of herbs commonly peddled in Bard’s Quarters. It is typically used by bards and mindbender to “soften up” a target before attempting to manipulate or manifest a power. The target must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer a 1d4 penalty modifier to saving throws against psionic effects for 1 minute.

Id fiend essence (contact). A combination of an id fiend's blood and cranial fluid can be reduced through a slow boil into a pinkish fluid that, when absorbed by a targets' skin, causes frightful visual hallucinations. If left unchecked, these hallucinations can send the victim into blind panic, fleeing from the unseen assailants that harass and threaten him. A creature subject to this poison must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution save or be frightened for 1 minute. The creature can attempt a save at the end of each of its turns to end the effect.

Kivit musk (ingested). When ingested, the refined extract from a kivit's musk gland causes constant stomach pain accompanied by sporadic vomiting and diarrhea, the effects sometimes lasting for hours on end. The target must make a DC10 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 8 hours.

Mastyrial poison (injury). The poison from a desert mastyrial causes internal hemorrhaging, resulting in painful splotchy bruises appearing all over the victim's skin, body chills, and possible bleeding from bodily orifices. A target must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 24 (7d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Mulworm Poison (contact). Those who simply come into contact with mulworm poison suffer a severe rash; a far worse fate awaits those injured by the poison, which attacks the body's immune system, causing a debilitating inability to defend itself from other infections. A creature subject to this poison must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take (3) 1d6 poison damage and have disadvantage on saves against poison and disease. The poisoned creature must repeat the saving throw every 24 hours, taking (3) 1d6 poison damage on a failed save. Until this poison ends, the damage caused by the poison cannot be healed by any means. After one successful save, the effect ends.

Purple grass extract (ingested). Made from the purple grass that grows outside of Urik, this poison both damages the victim, and inebriates them. This poison is not commonly used, but herders and gatherers know to avoid it in the areas around Urik. Bards have recently been attempting to find uses for this poison, given the long period of intoxication that follows. Anyone ingesting the plant, which tastes like a delicious dry wine, has their teeth and lips stained purple for 1d8 days. A target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 22 (4d10) poison damage and be poisoned for 24 hours in an intoxicated condition. A target that makes the save takes (2) 1d4 points of poison damage.

T'chowb ichor (contact). The lymph nodes and enlarged sweat glands found in the hands of the t'chowb can be used to create a viscous contact poison that, like the touch of the creature itself, drains the victim of his wits. A creature subject to this poison must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or have his Intelligence reduced by (2) 1d4 points. The poisoned creature must repeat the saving throw every 24 hours and have his Intelligence reduced by (2) 1d4 points on a failed save. Until this poison ends, the reduction cannot be healed by any means. A creature whose Intelligence reaches 0 dies. After one successful save, the effect ends and the points are fully restored after a long rest.

Equipment Packs

Most people avoid cumbersome equipment packs in the heat of the desert. Still, some items are vital for one's travels to such inhospitable lands. The packs available to characters include:

Bard's Kit (40cp). Includes a backpack, bedroll, 2 costumes, 5 candles, 5 days of rations, a waterskin, and a disguise kit.

Burglar's pack (8 cp). Includes a backpack, 10 feet of string, a bell, 5 candles, a bag of bone caltrops, a fire kit, a bone grappling hook, 2 flasks of oil, and a waterskin. The pack also has 50 feet of hempen rope strapped to the side of it.

Dune Trader's pack (8 cp). Includes a backpack, an abacus, a blanket, a lamp, a flask of oil, a pouch, a sack, a merchant's tunic, 2 ceramic vials, and two waterskins.

Noble's pack (37 cp). Includes a chest, 2 cases for maps and scrolls, a set of fine clothes, a vial of ink, an ink pen, a lamp, 2 flasks of oil, 5 sheets of parchment, a vial of perfume, sealing wax, and soap.

Nomad's pack (4 cp). Includes a blanket, a set of desert clothes, a fire kit, a small knife, a signal whistle, a two-person tent, and two waterskins.

Traveler's pack (10 cp). Includes a backpack, a bedroll, a set of desert clothes, a fire kit, 5 days of ration, 5 torches, and four waterskins.

Vitality

This rule replaces Death Saves with Vitality, which represent the actual physical damage a character can sustain before dying. Otherwise, the rules on hit points are unchanged.

Once Hit Points are gone, all damage goes to Vitality, and once these are gone, the character is dead. Unlike hit points, Vitality is fixed at 1st level.

Starting Vitality. You have Vitality equal to your 1st level hit points. This number never changes unless your Constitution modifier changes.

Death. If you ever have 0 vitality points or 3 death points, you are dead.

Reaching 0 hit points. The player chooses to either (1) gain 1 death point and the condition staggered, or (2) gain the condition unconscious. If an enemy opts to knock you unconscious, you cannot choose to become staggered. All future damage goes against your Vitality.

Dynamic Initiative

This optional initiative rule replaces the d20 roll with a die based off a choice of action, making initiative unpredictable each round. Lowest numbers go first.